Flush type door handle



Feb. 6, 1962 1'. H. JOHNSTONE ETAL 3,020,075

FLUSH TYPE DOOR HANDLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8, 1960 quill INVENTORS fieaab/e /i 4715/71/31 5 ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1962 T. H. JOHNSTONEETAL 3,020,075

FLUSH TYPE DOOR HANDLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1960 ATTORNEY Feb.6, 1962 T. H. JOHNSTONE ETAL 3,020,075

FLUSH TYPE DOOR HANDLE Filed June 8, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 m a m mwwm/v, TM w I R 0 W 5 m I r 4,0 M? m x N w IIIIIl/I 3,020,075 lgg PatentedFeb. 6, 1962 3,020,075 FLUSH TYPE DQOR HANDLE Theodore H. Johnstone,Lincoln Park, and Robert C. Liern, Livonia, Mich, assignors to GeneralMotors Corporation, Detroit, Micln, a corporation of Delaware Filed.lune 8, 196i), Ser. No. 34,781

8 (ilairns. (Cl. 292-3363) This invention relates to a door handle, andmore particularly to a flush type handle for a vehicle door.

One feature of the invention is that it provides an improved doorhandle.

Another feature of the invention is that it provides a handle assemblyincluding an elongated gripping memher which is mounted on the door forpivotal movement between an inoperative position wherein said memberlies substantially fiush with the surface of the door and an operativeposition wherein one end of said member is spaced from the surface ofthe door so that the member can be gripped by the hand of an operator.

A further feature of the invention is that a shield projects from thefree end of the gripping member and extends into the door in bothpositions of the gripping member so that there is never a hook-likeprojection extending out from the door.

Still another feature of the invention is that it provides a push buttonfor swinging the gripping member from inoperative position to operativeposition and a detent for coupling the push button to the grippingmember and uncoupling it therefrom; and yet another feature of theinvention is that it provides a second detent for holding the grippingmember in operative position. I

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and from the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an automobile havingthe improved handle mounted on the door thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged horizontal, longitudinal section taken along theline 2--2 of FIGURE 1 and showing the improved handle in solid lineswith parts in the position they assume when the door is closed, and inbroken lines with the parts in the position they assume when the pushbutton is operated to open the door;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2; I

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a section somewhat similar to FIGURE 2 I a door jamb face12a and the door 14 is formed with a v complementary jamb surface 14awhich lies closely adjacent and parallel to the body jamb face 121:, aweatherstrip '16 on the door engaging the body jamb face 12a when thedoor is closed to seal around the door.

The handle assembly is mounted in a trough-like escutcheon 18 which issecured by bolts 20 to a mounting the door latch 48.

bracket 22 inside the door. The handle assembly includes an elongatedgripping member 24 which is pivotally mounted on a stud 2 6 that ismounted between opposite walls of the escutcheon 18. As shown in FiGURE2, the gripping member 24 is pivotally movable between an inoperativeposition as illustrated in solid lines wherein it lies substantiallyflush with the surface of the door, and an operative position asillustrated in broken lines wherein one end of the gripping member 24has been swung away from the door so that the gripping member may begrasped by the hand of an operator in order to manipulate the door. Atthe free swinging endof the gripping member 2 there is a projectingshield 23 which extends into the door in both positions of the. grippingmember in order to avoid the provision of a hook-like projectionextending out from the surface of the door.

The shield 28 is elongated and is formed on an are about theaxis ofpivotal mounting 26 of the gripping member and the shield projects intothe door through an opening in the base of the escutcheon 18. A flangeor lug the gripping member 24 on the stud 26 and is adapted to swing thegripping member from its inoperative position to its operative position,being coupled to the gripping member through a detent 32. The detent 32is pivotally mounted on the push button 3%} on a pin 34 and is yieldablyurged toward a position (clockwise in FIGURE 2) where it couples thepush button 3@ tothe gripping member 24. The detent 32 has a couplingarm 35 which is formed at its end with a right angular coupling foot 36adapted to seat in a coupling notch 38 formed in the gripping member 24.The detent 32 is also formed with an uncoupling arm ll by means of whichthe detent may be swung from the coupled position of FIG- URES 2 and 4to the uncoupled or free position of FIGURES 6 and 7 where swingingmovement of the gripping member 24 is independent of the push button 30.

The push button abuts a push rod 42 which is urged by a coil spring 4into engagement with the push button. The free end of the push rod 42 inits normal or operative position is spaced from a latch actuating bellcrank 46 which, upon operation of the handle, is moved from the solidline position of FIGURE 3 to the broken line position of said figure inorder to unlatch the door. The bell crank 46 is connected by a rod 47 toSince the door latch, which is designated diagrammatically in FIGURE 1,forms no part of this invention, it will not be described here. Ifdesired, reference may be had to United States patents to Cockburn etal. No. 2,871,049, or Leslie No. 2,877,043, for a complete disclosure ofdoor latches suitable for use with this invention.

Means responsive to the position of the door are utilized for moving thedetent 32 into and out of coupled relation with the gripping member 2-4.A rod 50 is slidably mounted in the escutcheon 18 for axial orlongitudinal movement between the two positions illustrated in FIGURE 6,the rod 5d being yieldably urged toward its extended position by a coilspring 52 which seats between a collar 54 on the rod and an abutment 56on the stud 62 carried by the escutcheon 18. The actuator lever 60 hasan uncoupling arm 64 which is formed at its end with a bent uncouplingtab 66 adapted, when the actuator lever is swung in a clockwisedirection as the parts appear in FIGURES 2 and 4, to the position ofFIG- URES 6 and 7 to pick up the uncoupling arm 40 of the detent 32 andswing the detent 32 from its coupled position of FIGURES 2 and 4 to itsuncoupled position of FIGURES 6 and 7.

Pivotally mounted on the stud 62 coaxially with the actuator lever 60 isa second detent 70 having a bent foot 72 for engagement with a holdingnotch 74 in the gripping member 24 of the handle. A spring 76 isconnected between the actuator lever 60 and the second detent 70 foryieldably urging the detent foot 72 toward the gripping member 24 sothat the foot can seat in the holding notch 74. When the door is closed,the rotative position of the actuator lever is such that the detent foot72 is spaced out of the notch 74 as shown in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 2 shows in solid lines the position of the parts when the door isclosed. The gripping member 24 lies substantially flush with the doorouter panel, and the push button 30 projects outwardly from the door ina position to be actuated by the finger of the operator. The rod 50engages the jamb surface 12a of the automobile body and is held inrestricted position, compressing the spring 52 so that the actuatorlever 60 is held at its extreme limit of movement in a counterclockwisedirection as the parts appear in FIGURES 2 and 4, and the pickup tab 66on the actuator lever is out of engagement with the uncoupling arm 40 ofthe first detent 32. The latch actuating rod 42 is in its withdrawnposition.

With the parts in this position, if the push button 30 is depressed, thegripping member 24 is swung out toward the broken line position ofFIGURE 2 by virtue of the coupling between the push button and thegripping member since the tab 36 of the detent 32 seats in the couplingnotch 38 of the gripping member. The push button 30 has flangeextensions 30a and 30]) which project into the door and prevent theformation of an opening in which the fingers of the operator might becaught. The gripping member may now be grasped by the operator andpulled out to its fully extended position. Since the gripping member isconnected to the push button 30 through the detent 32, the push buttoncontinues to move in toward its flush position and the push rod 42 movesthe latch actuator 46 to release the door latch. Continued pull on thegripping member swings the door open. The gripping member 24 swingsoutwardly beyond the position illustrated in FIGURE 2 until its outwardswinging movement is stopped by the lug 28a at the end of the shield 28,which lug engages the inner surface of the escutcheon 18.

When the door swings open to a position where the push rod 50 is free ofthe jamb face 12a of the body, the push rod 50 moves under the force ofthe spring 52 to the extended position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 6.Since one end of the push rod 50 is connected to the actuator lever 60,the actuator lever is swung clockwise to the position of FIGURE 6. Inits swinging movement the actuator lever picks up the uncoupling arm 40of the first detent 32 and swings the detent from the coupled positionof FIGURE 2 to the free position of FIGURES 6 and 7 where the couplingtab 36 is out of the notch 38 so that the push button 30 is uncoupledfrom the gripping member 24. The push button 30 may now return under theforce of the push rod spring 44 to the position of FIGURES 2 and 4. Thedetent 32 will, when released by the actuator lever, be urged by thespring 80 back toward its coupled position.

When the actuator lever 60 swings clockwise from the position of FIGURES2 and 4 to the position of FIG- URES 6 and 7, the spring 76 which isconnected between this lever and the second detent 70, causes the detent70 to move clockwise with the actuator lever so that the coupling tab 72rides on a curved cam surface 82 on the gripping member 24, the spring76 continuing to urge the second detent clockwise so that the tab 72will seat in the holding notch 74 on the gripping member 24 when the taband the notch come into alignment with each other. When the grippingmember 24 is released by the operator after the door has been opened thehandle spring 84 will pull the gripping member 24 toward its flush ordoor closed position. During this movement the holding notch 74 willmove into alignment with the tab 72 on the second detent 70 and the tab,under force of the spring 76, will seat in the notch 74, holding thegripping member 24 in the operative position illustrated in FIGURES 6and 7.

The door may be closed merely by slamming the door without touching thegripping member 24 or by exerting force through the gripping member 24.If the door is merely slammed shut, the push rod 50 will be depressed asit engages and cams over a camming surface 121: (FIGURE 2) on the body.This movement of the rod 50 swings the actuator lever 60counterclockwise back to the position of FIGURES 2 and 4 and the seconddetent 70 is swung out of engagement with the holding notch 74 becauseof the spring connection 76 between this detent and the actuator lever.Consequently, the spring 84 is permitted to pull the gripping portion 24back to its flush position and the coupling tab 36 of the first detent32 will, under force of the spring 80, re-enter the coupling notch 38 inthe gripping member 24 so that the parts are back in their solid lineposition of FIGURE 2.

If the door is closed by gripping the handle and exerting force throughit, it is desirable that the gripping member 24 is not swung back flushwith the door until it is released by the operator. The abuttingsurfaces of the holding tab 72 and the holding notch 74 are so arrangedthat there is sulficient friction between these parts to hold the tab 72in the notch 74 against the force of the spring 76 despite the fact thatthe actuator lever 60 swings to the position of FIGURES 2 and 4. Whenthe door has been closed and the gripping member 24 of the handle isreleased by the operator, the frictional force is removed and the spring84 returns the gripping member 24 to its flush position.

If it is desired to lock the door without a key in the manner disclosedin Patent No. 2,871,049, the push button 30 may be depressed while thedoor is being closed to shift the latch actuating push rod 42 and movethe door latch parts to their keyless locking position. During thiskeyless locking operation the gripping member 24 remains in its outer ordoor-open position. While it is desirable to utilize the gripping memberto operate the latch actuator 46 when the door is closed as earlierdescribed, there is no necessity to utilize the gripping member for thispurpose when the door is open and the keyless locking operation is beingperformed. The reason for this is that when the door is open there is noseal force created tby compression of the door Weatherstrip andconsequently there is substantially less friction in the latch parts sothat considerably less force is required to operate the latch than isrequired when the door is closed and the Weatherstrip is compressed,which compression forces the bolt teeth against the striker.

In the event the rod 50 is inadvertently pushed in while the door isopen, the gripping member 24 would be released and would swing backunder the force of its spring to the flush position shown in solid linesin FIG- URE 2 so that there would be no gripping projection extendingfrom the surface of the door except the relatively small push button 30.Means are provided to swing the gripping member 24 back to its outerposition in the event the rod 50 is depressed while the door is open. Onthe detent 32 there is a shoulder which is in alignment with thecoupling foot 36 under the conditions above-described so that upondepression of the push button 30 the coupling foot 36 will pick up theshoulder 90 and swing the gripping member back out to a position whereit can be grasped by the operator to manipulate the door if desired.

While We have shown and described one embodiment of our invention, it iscapable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the constructionand arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A flush type handle of the character described for a door movablymounted on a body, comprising: an elongated gripping member pivotallymounted on the door for pivotal movement between an inoperative positionwherein said member lies substantially flush with the surface of thedoor and an operative position wherein one end of said member is spacedfrom the surface of the door so that the member can be gripped by thehand of an operator; a push button movably mounted on said door forswinging said gripping member from inoperative position to operativeposition; a movably mounted detent adapted to couple said push button tosaid gripping member; and means responsive to the position of the doorfor moving the detent into and out of coupling relation with saidgripping member.

2. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim :1, wherein said pushbutton is pivotally mounted coaxially with said gripping member, andwherein said detent is mounted on said push button.

3. A flush type handle of the character described for a door movablymounted on a body, comprising: an elongated gripping member pivotallymounted at one end on the door for pivotal movement between aninoperative position wherein said member lies substantially flush withthe surface of the door and an operative position wherein the other endof said member is spaced from the surface of the door so that the membercan be gripped by the hand of an operator; a shield projecting from saidother end of the gripping member and extending into the door in bothpositions of the gripping member; a push button movably mounted on saiddoor for swinging said gripping member from inoperative position tooperative position; a movably mounted detent adapted to couple said pushbutton to said gripping member; and means responsive to the position ofthe door for moving the detent into and out of coupling relation withsaid gripping member.

4. A flush type handle of the character described for a door movablymounted on a body, comprising: an elongated gripping member pivotallymounted at one end on the door for pivotal movement between aninoperative position wherein said member lies substantially flush withthe surface of the door and an operative position wherein one end ofsaid member is spaced from the surface of the door so that the membercan be gripped by the hand of an operator; a push button movably mountedon said door for swinging said gripping member from inoperative positionto operative position; a first detent pivotally mounted on said pushbutton for coupling said push button to said gripping member; a seconddetent for holding said gripping member in operative position; and meansresponsive to the position of the door for moving the first detent intoand out of coupling relation with said gripping member and for movingsaid second detent into position to hold said gripping member inoperative position.

5. A flush type handle of the character described for a vehicle doormovably mounted on a body, comprising: an elongated gripping memberpivotally mounted at one end on the door for pivotal movement between aninoperative position wherein said memberlies substantially flush withthe surface of the door and an operative position wherein the other endof said member is space-d from the surface'of the door so that themember can be gripped by the hand of an operator; a push buttonpivotally mounted on said door coaxially with said gripping member forswinging said gripping member from inoperative position to operativeposition; a first detent pivotally mounted on said push button forcoupling said a 6 push button to said gripping member, said detent beingswingable between a coupling position wherein it couples the push buttonto the gripping member and a free position wherein it is out ofengagement with said gripping member; a second detent pivotally mountedon the door for engaging a holding notch in the handle to hold thehandle in operative position; means responsive to the position of thedoor for moving said first detent into and out of coupled relation withsaid gripping member, comprising a rod adapted to engage and be moved bythe body when the door is closed and an actuator member connected tosaid rod and movable therewith to move said first detent from coupledposition to free position; and spring means connecting said seconddetent to said actuator member wherein said second detent means moves 6.A flush type handle of the character described for a vehicle doormovably mounted on a body, comprising:

an elongated gripping member pivotally mounted at one end on the doorfor pivotal movement between an inoperative position wherein said memberlies substantially flush with the surface of the door and an operativeposition wherein the other end of said member is spaced from the surfaceof the door so that the member can be gripped by the hand of anoperator, said gripping member having a coupling notch and a holdingnotch formed therein; a push button pivotally mounted on said doorcoaxially with said gripping member for swinging said gripping memberfrom inoperative position to operative position; a first detentpivotally mounted on said push button for coupling said push button tosaid gripping member, said detent being swingable between a couplingposition wherein it engages said coupling notch to couple the pushbutton to the gripping member and a free position wherein it is out ofengagement with said coupling notch; a second detent pivotally mountedon the door for engaging the holding notch in the gripping member tohold the gripping member in operative position; means responsive to theposition of the door for moving said first detent into and out ofcoupled relation with said gripping member, comprising a rod adapted toengage and be moved by the body when the door is closed, and an actuatormember connected to said rod and movable therewith to move said firstdetent from coupled position to free position when the door is opened;and yieldable means connecting said second detent to said actuatormember, whereby said second detent moves to a position where it mayengage said holding notch when the from the surface of the door so thatthe member can be gripped by the hand of an operator, said grippingmember having a coupling notch and a holding notch formed therein; apush button pivotally mounted on said door for swinging said grippingmember from inoperative position to operative position; a push rodconnected to said push button and movable thereby for unlatching thedoor; a first detent pivotally mounted on said push button for couplingsaid push button to said gripping member, said detent being swingablebetween a coupling position wherein it engages said coupling notch tocouple. the

push button to the gripping member and a free position wherein it is outof engagement with said coupling notch;

a second detent pivotally mounted on the door for engaging the holdingnotch in the handle to hold the handle in operative position; meansresponsive to the position of the door for moving said first detent intoand out of coupled relation with said gripping member, comprising a rodadapted to engage and be moved by the body when the door is closed andan actuator member connected to said rod and movable therewith to movesaid first detent from coupled position to free position when the dooris opened; and spring means connecting said second detent to saidactuator member, whereby said second detent moves to a position where itmay engage said holding notch when the door is opened.

8. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 7 wherein the angularrelationship between said second detent and said holding notch is soarranged as to provide a frictional component sufiicient to maintain thedetent UNITED STATES PATENTS 340,620 Russell Apr. 27, 1886 FOREIGNPATENTS 632,123 Great Britain Nov. 16, 1949

